The instructions for the earthly sanctuary of God were not arbitrary; they reflect and picture the heavenly realities of God’s dwelling place. This implies that the specific details of the tabernacle are not unimportant even for the church today. Since they image spiritual, heavenly realities, they have direct application to our theology of worship and even our liturgies and practice.

At Mt. Sinai, God established standardized practices of worship for his people. First, God commanded that the people build a sanctuary for him. They built the tabernacle of God—and later the temple—according to God’s specific instructions (Exod 25:8–9, 40; 27:8; Num 8:4; cf. Acts 7:44; Heb 8:5). This sanctuary of his presence was not for his benefit—Solomon would acknowledge later that God had no need for a house (1 Kgs 8:27). Rather, the tabernacle was for the people’s benefit; it provided a place where sinners were given the means necessary to draw near to the holy presence of God for communion with him, and the very layout and structure represented the core necessities for such communion to be possible. Furthermore, Exodus 25 explains that God gave Moses the exact pattern for the tabernacle, and Hebrews 8:5 confirms that this pattern was based upon the heavenly tabernacle. Thus, the instructions for the earthly sanctuary of God were not arbitrary; they reflect and picture the heavenly realities of God’s dwelling place. This implies that the specific details of the tabernacle are not unimportant even for the church today. Since they image spiritual, heavenly realities, they have direct application to our theology of worship and even our liturgies and practice.

The various parts of the tabernacle represent the biblical understanding of worship that has already begun to emerge in the early pages of Scripture. God’s presence dwelt in the Holy of Holies, and worship entailed drawing near to that presence. Various barriers prevented the people from drawing near, however, because of their sinfulness and unworthiness. Images of cherubim in several places harkened back to cherubim guarding the Eden sanctuary—they were embroidered on the veil that hid the Holy of Holies (1 Kgs 6:23–28) and on the ceiling and walls of the tabernacle (Exod 26:31; 1 Kgs 6:29), and two golden cherubim guarded the ark of God’s presence (Exod 25:18–22). Therefore, God provided a means by which his people could approach communion with him. Upon entering through the gate of the tabernacle courtyard, a worshiper would have first encountered the high altar, made of wood and covered with bronze (Exod 27:1–8, 38:1–8), which symbolized the atonement necessary for drawing near to the holy presence of God. Next came the bronze laver (Exod 30:17–21), which pictured cleansing, purification, and regeneration. Rituals performed at these places provided the temporary and partial access to God. Interestingly, there is no mention of music as part of the tabernacle worship. Not until David do we find explicit descriptions or instructions about corporate worship music. The people of Israel certainly had music as part of their culture and even used it to praise the Lord, but it is not part of the Mosaic Law.

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